Chapter 11

"What do you think?"

For a moment, Uchiha Fugaku did not know how to question this younger son of his.

Too many things had surfaced around Sasuke lately.

So many that even Fugaku felt stuffed, unable to digest it all. "Full marks?"

"Looks like that old man, the Third, was pretty satisfied with the little essay I wrote."

"Dad, do I get a reward?"

Sasuke held out his hand with an innocent look and asked with his round eyes wide open. "A reward?!"

"Wait, this little essay you mentioned... what do you mean?"

Uchiha Fugaku had originally wanted to figure out where the terrifyingly dense Will of Fire around Sasuke had come from.

He had always felt it was very likely due to Itachi's influence.

And with the mission Itachi now had to carry out... Fugaku felt increasingly uneasy.

After hearing Sasuke's words, Uchiha Fugaku was a little dazed.

It felt like he had gathered all his strength to throw a punch, only for his fist to drift off to who knew where. "A little essay... means following the topic requirements, using what I've learned, and making up something good enough to hand in."

"Articles praising the Third Hokage are everywhere. Just copy a bit here and there, piece it together, add some pretty words, and it's done."

"Dad, why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Sasuke blinked, looking at Uchiha Fugaku in complete confusion.

If it was just this tiny little matter, then there really was no need to waste time here. He was still rushing to eat.

So Sasuke simply laid it out plainly. "Nothing."

"Go wash your hands first. Time to eat."

"Later, come to the study with your brother."

After leaving those words behind, Uchiha Fugaku slowly stood up.

His brows were tightly furrowed, his face full of gravity and confusion, and he walked straight out of the two brothers' sight. "Sasuke, what you just said... was it all true?"

"It wasn't your own heartfelt realization? You made it all up?"

There was obvious disappointment in Itachi's tone.

After all, he had only just accepted the mission to properly nurture this younger brother. "Heartfelt realization?"

"Heh—the Third Hokage made our whole clan move to this out-of-the-way corner. I have to take the long way to school every day."

"Do you think I could have any realization about him...?"

"If anything, I've got plenty of hatred in my heart."

Sasuke said it with a serious expression. "You... Sasuke, there are some things your brother doesn't know—"

"Brother, I'm going to eat first!"

"I'm starving!"

After saying that, Sasuke shot off like a wisp of smoke. "That kid..."

"The Will of Fire... is it really right?"

"Am I...?"

Itachi's entire mind began to fall into chaos.

Deep down, he wanted very much to hold fast to the belief he had upheld for years.

But everything Sasuke had said was right there in front of him, all facts.

The two thoughts crashed back and forth in his head, making Itachi more and more uncomfortable.

And the culprit behind all of this—Uchiha Sasuke.

At that moment, he had already switched into devouring mode.

He had to replenish his nutrition properly. Otherwise, how would he have the strength to train?

Another genius had appeared in the Uchiha—this news quickly spread through the village.

There was no way around it. As the strongest clan on Konoha's surface, even if the Uchiha were not popular now, plenty of people were still watching them.

The name Uchiha Sasuke officially entered everyone's field of vision.

At the same time... Hyuga Hinata was also being watched.

In the Hyuga Clan, inside Hiashi Hyuga's residence.

Hiashi Hyuga and Hyuga Hinata sat facing each other.

Hiashi Hyuga's face was dark, his brows knitted. One look was enough to tell he was in a terrible mood.

As for Hinata, though she was a little nervous and a little restrained,

there was a different kind of resolve in her eyes. "So... you became friends with Uchiha Sasuke because of this?"

"A bowl of ramen?"

Hiashi Hyuga finally spoke.

His own daughter had actually gone out in the middle of the night to eat because she had not been full.

And he, her father, had known nothing about it.

If Hinata had not said it herself, he probably never would have noticed.

After all, the Hyuga Clan was also a great clan in the village.

What was more, they trained in taijutsu, so the amount of food prepared had always been ample.

Yet he had never imagined that Hinata's demand for food would be that great. "Not one bowl. A full twelve bowls."

Hinata's voice was not loud, but it choked Hiashi Hyuga's words right back. "You child..."

Hiashi Hyuga opened his mouth, then was stunned, not knowing what to say.

Ever since Hanabi was born, his demands of Hinata had become so strict they were almost harsh.

In the end, he had also wanted to break certain rules.

Those were rules passed down through the Hyuga Clan for generations—the main family and the branch family.

Back then, the matter of his own younger brother Hizashi dying in his place had lodged in his heart like a thorn that could not be pulled out.

Hanabi and Hinata, these two girls, would sooner or later be unable to escape that hurdle as well.

It was precisely because of that that he had pushed her so hard.

He had thought that if Hinata were strong enough, once she firmly took the clan head's position in the future, perhaps she could abolish that old set of rules.

But Hinata's talent had truly been beneath his notice.

After half a day of training, her progress had been so slow it made him angry.

He had originally thought the girl was useless. In the end, it turned out her stomach simply had not been filled.

Over the past few months, everyone could see Hinata's soaring progress.

Now Hiashi Hyuga did not know what to do instead.

Hinata was getting too close to someone from the Uchiha family. If this caused trouble, no one would be able to handle it.

But with her personality...

If he forced her to stay away from that Uchiha boy at a time like this, there would probably be a knot left in the girl's heart. "Father, do you look down on the Uchiha like everyone else does?"

"Can you tell me what exactly is going on with them?"

Hinata clenched her fists and stated it plainly.

She was not stupid. On the contrary, her heart was very clear.

There were many things she did not fail to understand. She simply did not want to say them. "Hinata, you... fine. I'll talk it through with you."

"The Uchiha founded this village together with the Senju Clan. Back then, they were the two strongest clans in Konoha."

"But the people of their family are too arrogant at their core, and toward power, they..."

Hiashi Hyuga truly knew quite a bit about the Uchiha.

From Madara Uchiha all the way to the current head, Uchiha Fugaku, he laid it all out.

Even outstanding juniors like Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi were not left out.

As for Sasuke, he did not mention him in particular. "One of the two great clans that founded the village!"

"They shone in several Ninja World Wars!"

"During the Third War, they forcibly blocked the Hidden Mist Village with the strength of one clan and scattered their entire offensive!"

"Now geniuses keep appearing one after another, and they have a pile of elite jonin!"

"Just because they're too proud, everyone avoids them like a plague god?"

"And there's no real evidence that says the Nine-Tails incident was definitely their doing, right?"

Hinata laid out everything she knew in one breath. The resolve in her eyes was even stronger than before.

How could Hiashi Hyuga not understand these things?

The Hyuga Clan had been able to remain safe and steady in Konoha until now because they had never gotten involved in those struggles for power.

But if they became connected to the Uchiha, those important figures in Konoha would definitely shift their gaze over.

At that time...

Hiashi Hyuga could not say those words. "Father, Uchiha Sasuke and I are friends now."

"As for training, I will risk everything to meet your requirements."

"So... please don't stop me, all right?"

Hinata raised her head and stared straight into Hiashi Hyuga's eyes.

She spoke each word with absolute clarity.

Hiashi Hyuga stared at his daughter for a long while.

After a long silence, it was as if he had made some kind of decision. "Hinata, do you know what consequences this decision of yours will bring?"

Hiashi Hyuga stood up, his gaze toward his daughter carrying a few more traces of seriousness. "I understand."

Hinata also stood up. The veins at the corners of her eyes bulged, and her Byakugan had already activated. "Fine."

"Since you have this determination, prove it with action. If you ever slack off, then—"

"Father, I understand!"

Before he could finish speaking, a smile bloomed on Hinata's face, obvious joy in the depths of her eyes.

Hiashi Hyuga nodded and waved toward the door, signaling for her to go back and rest first.

After the door closed, the head of the Hyuga family finally showed weariness on his face and sighed softly. "I hope this step wasn't wrong..."

He had placed all his stakes on his eldest daughter.

Moreover, he had seen all of Hinata's changes.

If it had been the old girl who blushed at the slightest thing, she never could have said what she had just said.

The change in Hinata's personality also gave Hiashi Hyuga a little more confidence about changing the clan rules.

If she were still like before, trembling even when meeting someone's eyes, that matter would not even be worth thinking about.

But now... it was different!

At the same time, deep in the woods. "So this is the new training method Sasuke mentioned?"

"It feels pretty exciting."

Rock Lee blinked those eyes full of thirst for knowledge and leaned closer to ask. "Exciting? More like it hurts like hell."

"But it's a lot more useful than just practicing those basic movements."

Naruto, who had already tasted it before, spoke with the expression of someone experienced.

The feeling of his whole body going numb from Sasuke's Lightning Release still echoed in his mind.

That guy was restless even in class and secretly zapped him every few days.

If his will had not been strong enough, the teacher would have asked him out of the classroom long ago. "Naruto, Lee."

"No matter what path you want to take, physical fitness is the foundation."

"There's no need to say much about Lee. Among the three of us, your base is the toughest."

"But it can still be raised by a big margin."

"From now on, our training can't just stare at one thing and hammer away at it."

"Today's task is to complete ten rounds of physical tempering."

"The following physical training will count as the adjustment period for getting used to your new bodies."

"Ready?"

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, dazzling arcs of electricity leaped in his palm.

Looking at that crackling flash, the corners of Naruto and Lee's mouths twitched at the same time.

This time... it was probably going to hurt like crazy!

After one round of training ended, the three guys returned to the public training ground. "Sasuke, you got full marks on the culture class this time, right? Teach me, will you?"

"Yeah, Sasuke, I need help with that too."

Naruto and Lee stared at Sasuke eagerly.

Compared with their actual combat performance, the cultural class results of these two were simply like they belonged to completely different people. "Culture class?"

"It's actually not that hard."

"You two have already memorized the things that need to be memorized."

"The key lies in battle situation analysis, and in your understanding of the Will of Fire."

"Let's talk about the Will of Fire first..."

Sasuke's voice was obviously raised a few degrees.

For the next stretch, he spoke entirely about how deep his feelings for this village were.

How much he respected the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

What understanding he had of the meaning of battle...

Only after he finished saying all of that did he begin breaking down battle analysis and response strategies in fine detail.

The weekend slipped away silently in the three little guys' day-and-night training.

Konoha's higher-ups could no longer sit still.

Inside the Root Organization.

That kid from the Uchiha family was mixed up with the Nine-Tails jinchuriki? And he was even teaching her the Will of Fire?

Danzo's face looked uglier than if he had seen a ghost when he received the intel.

Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi had long since plunged headfirst into the Will of Fire and could not pull themselves out. Uchiha Fugaku had worried himself sick over it, trying countless times to drag those two brats back to their own clan's side, only for every effort to go to waste.

But now, five-year-old Uchiha Sasuke—by rights, Fugaku should have been watching him even more closely. How had he instead ended up becoming a mouthpiece for the Will of Fire?

Besides, in his plan, the Uchiha and the Nine-Tails jinchuriki were both indispensable pieces.

Just what had that old bastard the Third done behind his back?

How could he have won over someone from the Uchiha clan so quickly?

Could it be...

Danzo's mind began to churn like a stormy sea. The things he had done before had already been treading on the Third's bottom line. On top of that, after the Nine-Tails incident, those little moves he had made had long since left the Third seething inside.

In the Hokage's office. "Looks like that boy Itachi didn't make me trust him for nothing."

"Next, have him keep doing his original work."

"As for Shisui Uchiha, keep a slight eye on him. Don't let anyone from Root get close."

The corners of Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth lifted.

The situation before him made him feel that his path had finally been the right one. As long as he settled the Uchiha, the most troublesome clan, bringing the other clans into the fold would be nothing difficult.

As for Danzo...